Entrapment
by EtriusSierra
Summary: The Terran Republic have breached Heyoka Tech Plant. The Vanu Sovereignty is on the retreat. Hope is running out. Survival is a victory.
1. Act I

Entrapment

"... Fall back! All squads, fall back to the Armoury! The Tech Plant is lost!"  
"All remaining armour units, regroup at the north road leading out of Heyoka Tech! Prowlers are advancing from the south-east; we need to cover our retreat!"  
"The Galaxies are circling back! Find cover!"

Bulldog rounds began to rain into gun deck again, as the last of the AA turrets were finally destroyed. Only a squad's worth of Vanu Sovereignty soldiers remained at the very top of Heyoka Tech Plant. All in all, it was a disastrous night on Amerish.

"Come on, what the fuck are we still doing here?!"  
"I can fix this! I can fix this!"  
"Forget the fucking turret, we got to get out of here! We're sitting ducks!"

A newly constructed VS Valkyrie was in the midst of taking off from the Tech Plant's landing platform, when a TR Galaxy flew around the gun deck to block its escape. Within moments, the aircraft and its six occupants were obliterated by the Galaxy's right wing Bulldog.

"Oh god..."

Echo-3 drops his repair tool in shock, before getting pulled away from his ruined turret by a desperate Echo-4 Heavy.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?! Get up!"

The Heavy went in to pick up the stunted Engineer, but stopped when he finally noticed the blood which was dripping from under the Engineer's helmet, from his deaf ears. Fragile as he was in his current state, Echo-4 decided it was reason enough to abandon Echo-3, to flee with the others who were frantically racing for the grav-lift and teleport tubes. Unfortunately, as Echo-7 could see, it was already too late to escape.

The Infiltrator was chucking the last of her grenades down the grav-lift, in an effort to slow down the TR soldiers that were riding their way up. They most definitely had taken the ground floor, along with the only exits that didn't involve falling to one's death. Echo-7 fell backwards from the lift shaft, as a few bullets cracked by that were meant to suppress her.

 _Damn it._

Sliding herself behind a NS crate, she peers over it to spot Echo-4 in front of a teleport tube, which had just closed its door to begin a teleport sequence. Past all the smouldering Bulldog impacts and corpses, she then saw him turn back, and without even thinking, he started to run for the grav-lift in a blind panic, allowing for a barrage of Bulldog rounds to pinpoint him. Echo-4, followed by Echo-3, were destroyed in a flash.

Echo-7 turns away, her back and Stalker Cloak generator pressed against the crate. She grits her teeth and draws her suppressed Cerberus, in an effort to pull her focus away from what just happened.

 _Focus, think. I still have a pistol with two batteries and my cloaking. Where can I go?_

Her head was spinning with adrenaline, searching for a way to escape the overwhelming odds that were travelling up to her.

 _Hide, I have to hide! Now!_

Without a proper plan, the Infiltrator signals her implants to engage her Stalker Cloak. She then springs to her feet and starts sprinting away from the grav-lifts, staying as close as possible to the roof arches as a measure of cover. She carefully gauges her cloak's energy level, which was displayed on her right eye, as it continued to drain from the swift movements she was making.

 _I can make it. Keep moving! I can make it to the end of the deck._

It was easy going without any heavy armour to weigh her down, made even easier with the use of an Agility mod that used nanites laced throughout her muscular structure, to optimise her physical exertions. Altogether, Echo-7 is afforded a few crucial seconds by the time she reaches the end of the gun deck. Glancing back at the way she came, she spots the arrival of several TR Heavies, who are tagged by the Targeting mod built into her helmet. Red Overshields activate, which glint from a distance, as they move to secure their immediate vicinity. The squad numbers around a dozen, but of greater concern to Echo-7 then just their firepower, were the darklight torches that some of the Heavies were using, lights which had the specific function of revealing cloaked Infiltrators. Clearly, the small walkway of a destroyed AA-turret was not going to be a good enough hiding spot.

Crouched, and holding as still as she could to allow her cloaking to regenerate its charge, she cranes her head around in search of a way to avoid the current floor altogether. Darklights start to flick their way more and more towards Echo-7's turret station by the time she settles on a possible direction; up, towards where a TR Galaxy loomed.

 _The roof, it's my only chance!_

Approaching her AA-turret wreck, she steps to one side of the machine; it's occupant still in the process of being deconstructed by nanites. Pistol holstered, her hands and feet are trying to find suitable grips on the turret in order to hop on top. She's wary of the wreck's jaggedness and heat, which was all suspended 100 metres above ground level. Fortunately, with her nanoweave armour and powered shielding to provide protection, she is able to use an exposed armour panel and a gun barrel to pull herself up belly first. Planting her hands on top of the turret, she slowly pushes herself back onto her feet, while trying to remain calm even as TR Heavies approached from one turret station away. She stands to her full height, while trying to keep her balance atop of a turret that was beginning to creak and crumble. Daring not to spare another second with a shaky bend in her knees, she leans forward to then leap for the roof.

Her hands latch onto an edge, her torso and legs impact the curved roof. She is briefly stunted, unable to pull herself clear, with nerves that weren't doing her any favours.

 _Come on! Don't you fucking die like this!_

Eventually, with a pained grunt she was trying to keep silent, she pulls herself high enough to get a leg up, with moments to spare. Darklights sweep the turret station, as she crawls along the roof to sit against one of the Tech Plant's two spires. Echo-7 was safe for the moment, giving her a chance to focus on simply breathing, to allow her adrenaline to settle. But in having the chance to rest, something began to stir in her mind, something she was too preoccupied to notice in her haste, a presence she could feel through the Vanu Proximity Network. She quickly scans the squad display on her left eye, to find that there was in fact one other VS soldier by the designation of Echo-11, who somehow was still alive. Echo-7 is able to positionally sense and pinpoint the survivor in moments, but to her horror, it was a position that would not to be safe for much longer. Slipping over a roof beam to peer through a roof slit, she could see Echo-11 hanging onto the edge of the gun deck for dear life while cloaked. A female voice flickers over the radio.

"I... I can't hold... argh."  
"Cailly... I can't reach you..."  
"Run... just run..."

Echo-11's voice held a sense of fear, yet acceptance.

"... I'm sorry."  
"... Don't say sorry... make... make them pay..."

One way or another, Echo-7 knew that Echo-11 would be dead very soon, either through losing her grip or being discovered. As it suddenly turned out, death by darklight was what reached her first.

"Contact, Cloaker!"

Red bullets rained in on Echo-11, with one landing a headshot. Her shield and helmet manage to stop the bullet from going all the way through, but the impact was still enough to stun her, coursing her to let go of the Tech Plant.

"Ahhh- "

Echo-7 averted her gaze and switched off the radio.

"Tango down. Continue the sweeps, there's probably more hiding up someone's ass."

The shock of losing her comrades in quick succession was taking its toll on the now lone VS Infiltrator. She was consciously aware of how close she was to her tipping point, in that her shock was starting to evolve into rage. She was trying her hardest to fight against it, by trying to remind herself that from all the decades of fighting, losing her cool now was only going to get her killed.

 _They'll be ok. They may be out for a while in the Rebirthing Network, but they'll be alive soon enough. They'll be ok..._

Remaining cross-legged against her spire, she continued to internalise her thoughts over and over again. It was a meditative technique she disciplined herself to remember, in times where she would often be hidden but alone, with no help that could reach her in time. Such was the life of most Stalkers.

She gave a long exhale, shutting her eyes for a moment to calm herself, to restrengthen her presence of mind. Her breathing slows over the next minute, which allows her focus to return to the humming of the TR Galaxy from above, and the footsteps of the TR Heavies from below. Tentatively, she opens her eyes again to assess her situation.

 _How do I handle this? How do I escape?_

Redeploying through rebirthing crossed her mind, but as usual, it wasn't a particularly favourable option in terms of having to still die. It was effectively a controlled form of suicide, which nevertheless brought a lot of pain, even if it was suppressed through implants. She remembered how whenever she was brought back, how excruciating it was to suddenly have every system in her body jump-started again, even if the pain only lasted for minutes. Worse still, she could even remember the times she spent in darkness, while waiting on some distant server to be rebirthed. No sight, no smell, no sound, no touch, just a cold, unforgiving pain she could not shut out until it was her turn to come back.

In essence, no matter how committed anyone wanted to be for their faction, rebirthing was something that most Auraxians wanted to avoid at all costs. The fear of death, humanity's most potent evolutionary instinct, made all the more unforgettable through multiple lives. If Echo-7 wasn't being ordered to redeploy, she would gladly take her chances with staying alive to escape the TR occupation.

Undoubtedly, the TR were making preparations to change the network controls for Heyoka Tech Plant, to prevent any VS from rebirthing in. Such a change would also involve the teleporters being restricted to TR personnel only, which meant that she only had a small window of opportunity for if she wanted to use the chamber beneath her. Teleporting was nowhere near as painful as being rebirthed, seeing as they used direct transport conduits between any two teleporters. The only problem was, was with who she would find on the ground floor once she travelled through. For all Echo-7 knew, she could be walking straight into an open ambush. She slowly shook her head; the teleporters were not an option.

Looking next to the grav-lifts, she felt it was possible to sneak over the roof to get above them. But to then enter the lifts, she would then need to time a jump that would dodge any darklights still circulating the gun deck and the lifts themselves. To that end, if she was somehow successful, she would then have to stalk her way through the first floor, to find a way to climb the rest of the way down. Alternatively, she could even try climbing down the Tech Plant from the very top to avoid the TR altogether, but this naturally held the greater risk of falling to one's death.

Both options were Echo-7's best thus far, even with all their dangers. Refusing to leave her roof altogether would likely be certain death, seeing as the TR would soon conduct a more thorough sweep of the Tech Plant with Light Assault soldiers. It would only be a matter of time before she was found, time which was quickly running short, as a deep rumbling began to grow from beneath Echo-7. A jarring noise, which outgrew the hum of the TR Galaxy, soon vibrated from the nearby spires, as the Tech Plant's systems renewed themselves. Red lights pulsed upwards into the air from their peaks, signalling Heyoka's final transfer to the Republic.

She watched on, as the red lights in the night eventually dimmed, bringing the roof back into relative darkness and silence. But beyond the loud sights of defeat for her Sovereignty, something else in front of Echo-7 caught her attention, something which immediately froze her in place. Just as the lights were dying down, there then came the distinct refractions of a cloaked Infiltrator who was moving around ever so slightly... who was not on her side, and was only a few metres away.

 _Has he seen me? Where is he looking?_

Her eyes were unmoving, as she tried to pinpoint exactly where the enemy's outline was, while slowly reaching for her Cerberus. He was mostly in cover, crouched behind a roof beam, who curiously was observing the TR below. Echo-7 had a hand on her pistol when all of a sudden, in a quick and quiet motion, the enemy Infiltrator had decided to slip over his roof beam towards her! He arrived close by to Echo-7, and immediately froze, sighting the new danger that was now sitting a metre or so away from him. Giving no further regard for subtlety, both Infiltrators instinctively drew their pistols on each other, but neither one dared to disengage their cloaking to shoot, not while the TR loomed over them. If either Infiltrator tried to shoot through their own cloaking, the bullets would fracture the enclosing Nanomesh that was needed to completely bend light around themselves, coursing an energy draining decloak to occur. Thus, they remained where they were, locked in an Auraxian standoff, with neither Infiltrator showing any signs of backing down. A good 20 seconds pass by, without so much as a blink beneath their respective masks, before they eventually calm themselves.

"... NC?"

Echo-7 was the first to break their silence, in muttering the New Conglomerate's abbreviation. There was a pause, until in response, the enemy Infiltrator nodded his silhouetted head.

"... VS?"

Following up on his compliance, Echo-7 nodded back as well. They kept their voices low, with the humming from the TR Galaxy serving to mask their sounds. Pistols were still raised at this point in time... until finally, the NC Infiltrator chose to withdraw first. He tilted his weapon away to spread apart his hands in an open arms gesture. The VS Infiltrator follows suit by lowering her own pistol.

"I guess this makes two of us stuck on a roof."  
"Why here?"  
"... To live."  
"Why are you here, at this Tech Plant?"  
"... I can't say, but I think me being here is the least of your problems."  
"You really think so?"

Echo-7 clutches her pistol tighter.

"Yes, I do."  
"... So what then?"  
"Well... we're both stuck on the same roof because of the Republic."

The NC Infiltrator casually points at the TR Galaxy above them.

"Right now, that looks like your biggest problem, our biggest problem."  
"What's your point?"  
"I think it's obvious."  
"... You think we should work together? To escape?"  
"A pretty good plan don't you think?"  
"For you perhaps."  
"... I could say the same thing."

The VS Infiltrator breathes a sigh of annoyance.

"Do you trust the Republic more than me right now?"  
"... Fuck you."  
"Hm, so what then? We're just going to sit here and wait for the Light Assaults to find us?"

Echo-7 fell silent, as she simply stared with contempt from behind her helmet.

"... Look, what's your name?"  
"... Echo-7."  
"Nice to meet you, Echo-7. You can call me Ranger-3."  
"So there are more infiltrators like you? Spying on us this deep?"  
"If you like, sure."

Ranger-3 started to shuffle over, to sit next to Echo-7. She fidgets with her pistol on instinct but stops, upon recognising the danger that still remained around them.

"It'd be easier to hear each other out."  
"..."

A similar fate of a damaging decloak would occur if either Cloaker tried to engage in melee combat. Their concealment was the only thing that lessened their guard towards each other, as Ranger-3 sat side by side with Echo-7. She made no move of her head to acknowledge his presence.

"I saw what happened here, I saw everything from when they attacked. At least a platoon's worth..."  
"They were hunting me just now, I know who's here."  
"Then you damn well know we'd stand a better chance against them if we work together."

Ranger-3 tilted his head at Echo-7, who still wasn't looking to him.

"I don't want to die, Echo. I'm guessing you're not a fan of rebirthing either? Is that fair to say?"  
"... Yeah," Echo said, finally tilting her head to look at Ranger, before peering up at the stars and the gas giant that filled the night sky. Ranger taps around at two magazines for his suppressed Desperado pistol.  
"One in the chamber, these two, and a knife. That's all I got. You?"

While not dying was something both Infiltrators could agree on, Echo still felt hesitant about revealing what personal assets she had left to defend herself, to an enemy. Nevertheless, here was an enemy infiltrator that had just given away his.

"... One spare battery... one already loaded, and a Lumine."  
"Not much to work with huh?"  
"... Not much at all."  
"Hm... well at least a truce has to count for something huh? How about it?"

The VS Infiltrator looked to her squad listing, then to the map of Heyoka. They both reinforced how well and truly alone she was, with a NC Infiltrator who she had little reason to trust with her life. But ultimately, as the TR continued to bustle around on the gun deck below, what little trust there was, was going to have to do.

"... I guess... if there is ever a chance, for anything good thing to come of this night..."  
"Likewise... Vanu's finest, I take it?"  
"... You flatter yourself."  
"Well I mean, we both managed make it here, that should count for something."  
"I'll believe that once we get out of here. Maybe if we climbed down over that side, that way."

Echo pointed past the Tech Plant's north spire, where the structure sloped away towards thin ledges and a shear drop.

"Hmm... The lifts do seem too busy at the moment. You ever climbed that way before?"  
"Once."  
"Successfully?"  
"No."  
"Oh."  
"... It was a long time ago. What about you?"  
"Never tried it..."

Ranger stops mid-sentence, to spare a glance towards what he thought was a Light Assault, jetting around close by. Echo slowly stands up.

"... Guess today will be my first time."  
"I'll lead."

A newfound sense of urgency overtook both Infiltrators, allowing them the chance to stifle their distrust for each other. Their time was running short, as the TR were presumably about to launch a Light Assault search team, to hunt for any stragglers.

Turning their backs to the gun deck, the two Infiltrators climbed up and over their spire's support structure, to then slide down onto the other side. What came next to Echo's knowledge, were a series of ledges. The first had some semblance of an enclosed railing, while the second had none at all, which Echo was the most wary off.

 _Over 30 years ago, I fell from such a ledge. Take it nice and easy this time._

She eased herself off the spire to hang off the edge, readying herself for the first ledge. With a small swing in her legs, she falls and lands as she anticipates; knees to the ledge with arms braced against the railing. She shifts to one side to allow Ranger to land right behind her.

"Next ledge is this one, the narrow one," said Echo, pointing over the edge.  
"... I'm guessing this is the one that kills."

While the drop wasn't as big as the first, it didn't give much clearance for bending knees. Nevertheless, there was no time to turn back for the two Infiltrators, as the sound of jetpacks was becoming more apparent. Echo turns to Ranger.

"Uncloak, I can lower you down."

Ranger looks back up for a moment to check if he could see the TR Galaxy that still was humming away; he couldn't. Satisfied with where they were, he willingly uncloaks, followed by Echo, before going first over the edge. With both hands, Echo holds on to Ranger's left wrist, and carefully lowers him while resting her torso on the railing to take his weight. His feet touch the ledge, and with what little room there is, he leans against the wall to keep his balance. Peering back up at Echo, he signals to her to let go; now it was her turn to get down.

"I've got you," said Ranger, raising up his right arm.

Echo took a deep breath, before rotating herself around to hang off the railing.

 _Nice, and easy._

She cranes her head to the left, towards where she was expecting Ranger to be. Releasing her left hand to hold with just her right, she clearly sights the small distance she had to drop, before releasing herself completely from the railing. A hand quickly pushes into her back to keep her close to the wall as she falls, which helps her to successfully connect both feet to the new ledge. But as she feared, her knees bend into the wall to push her off balance! She had only a second to react, within which, Echo allows her right leg to give way, to fall against the ledge chest first. Her shields cushion the impact, but now she feels her left leg beginning to slip. She tenses her arms, pressing both her hands down as hard as she could, just as her body was about to slide off. Just barely, against her shifting momentum, Echo manages to cling on.

"Aghh..."

She held herself in place, her Agility mod working hard to aid her strength. Ranger kneels down to try to help her back up.

"Wait, no..."

She scanned what was beneath her, and quickly notes that there is no point in trying to climb back up, when she could clearly see the last ledge they would have to swing to.

"... Move left, move."

Surmising that she would have to move around the Tech Plant's nearest corner, to line up with the wide but somewhat sloped ledge, she begins to shimmy to her left, with Ranger crawling close by.

"Is the next ledge around the corner?"  
"... Yes..."

As they rounded the Tech Plant, Echo was becoming increasingly concerned with where the TR Light Assaults were. She flicked a glance every now and then towards the gun deck, sighting nothing through the cover of night.

"Here."

Soon, the Infiltrators reach where they need to swing from. Ranger slides himself off to hang beside Echo, who was already swinging herself for the next drop. With enough gathered momentum, she lets herself fall towards the slanted ledge, landing feet first before seating herself in one motion, to halt the risk of sliding off.

 _... Not this time._

She carefully shifts herself away from the edge, before peering back up to see Ranger trying to swing down, as darklights began to shine down from far above! He quickly lets go to land awkwardly with his larger weight, unable to get a proper grip against the sloped surface.

In reaction, Echo grabs and pulls at Ranger's left wrist to stabilise him. His scampering stops, and finally, he's able to get himself seated alongside Echo, in cover against any search light.

"... Thanks," said Ranger, as he sighed with relief.

The two Infiltrators take a breather from their new vantage point, where they could clearly see the expansive layout of the Tech Plant below, now mostly quiet. A few sectors still remained in ruin from the Terran's earlier onslaught, which wasn't anything that nanotech couldn't repair over the course of an Auraxis day. To their right, were the central grav-lifts that ran from the gun deck to the ground floor, along with two Republican soldiers who were guarding the lifts from an elevated first floor position.

"There's our way down..." muttered Echo.

Directly beneath, there stood one of four support legs that connected to the main body of the Tech Plant, a leg that Echo and Ranger knew they could use to traverse to the first floor. They turn to each other, in silent agreement on what was to come next, before going on to properly note the other's appearance outside of their cloaks for the very first time.

Echo wore a Darkstar Scout helmet, which had a sweeping visor that was tinted black, while Ranger wore a Windhelm helmet, a nanowoven mask fitted with goggles. Both Infiltrators wore additional composite armour and bore camouflages that were fitting of Amerish's environment, with a few hints of purple and blue that reflected their respective factions. But looking closer through the night, they both could see that their composite armours weren't just of conventional metal. Their platings had a subtle distortion about them, a dark shimmer that was characteristic of metals being infused with Auraxium; the mark of a seasoned warrior.

The Infiltrators readied themselves for the next drop, their biggest yet. While survivable, it undoubtedly was high enough to damage their shields, in order to soften such a fall. Echo slid herself forward, continuing to take point with her Agility mod to assist, and allows her legs to slip off, to fall for the Tech Plant leg. She lands hard over a flat surface and tumbles forward onto her right shoulder to roll out the rest of her momentum, leaving her shield half depleted. Ranger lands close by in a similar fashion, with similar results to his own shielding. He raises a hand to signal for Echo to wait, to allow for his shields to recharge.

Around a minute later with their shields regenerated, they both cloak and slide themselves off the Tech Plant leg. They carefully navigate along structural beams and joins, staying as low as possible, before they finally reach a small crawl space that gave them an overlooking view of the first floor. For the Infiltrators, it wasn't a very encouraging sight.


	2. Act II

"Fucking hell, darklight stands already..." Whispered Ranger.

Being erected at regular intervals across the floor, there were dark floodlights on tripods, intended for security and convenience. Stationing them and a number of supply crates, were about a dozen Terran soldiers.

"There's the forest south of here. If that's our way out, we need to be on the east side of this building."  
"We need the high ground, past the lift and two guards..."  
"... I'll look..."

Echo leans forward to the edge of the crawl space, and rolls herself onto her back to look up at the high ground they needed to reach. Circular metal beams that ran from the Tech Plant's legs to the lifts, provided their only route past the guards outside of any darklight. Echo signals for Ranger to follow her along the nearest beam, which was within reach from their crawl space. She climbs on first; the beam is wide enough to move on all-fours.

"... The hell is Falkner's unit still doing down there? They said they had it secured..."  
"Probably just leaving us to do the rest of the work, right quick."  
"... Yeah, right?"

A conversation between two Terran guards could now be heard, with both Infiltrators now only a few metres away from a Light Assault and an Engineer. Suddenly, something riles the guards, prompting Echo and Ranger to duck, just as they were halfway across their route.

"Fuck, you see that?" Exclaimed the Light Assault.  
"Yeah I see them..."

Something was pulling their attention towards the ground. Before very long, it became clear as to what it was, when sporadic gunfire began to echo through the air, before silence fell again within seconds.

"Yeah, yeah, fucking secure, huh?! Christ..."

Gauging the sound of the shots that travelled, Echo could only assume that more of her people were hunted down just now, somewhere to the north-west. Now however, was not the time to think of them.

 _Keep moving..._

She lifted her head to peer across at the two guards again. Their backs were still turned, which provided the opening the Infiltrators needed to climb up and switch to the next beam. But just as the two Infiltrators were crossing over, three Heavies came floating down in the grav-lifts from the gun deck, all with darklights switched on! Skipping apart from one another, Echo and Ranger hid behind two separate blast barriers, as rays of darklight flickered past their high cover, at angles that were too close for comfort. Hovering past, two of the Heavies continued their way to the ground floor, leaving the third to join the other two guards.

"What's it look like down there?" Asked the Heavy.  
"Falkner found a few strays. They've been taken down," answered the Engineer.  
"Right... we're still checking up top for strays. Something tripped with a motion sensor..."

 _Shit!_

"Yeah, I saw that. It definitely looked like it was on the top floor."

Echo and Ranger no doubt were the ones the TR were referring too. But no matter what their past disturbances were, they were now permissible to the fact that the Heavy who was holding a darklight, was currently shining it in the direction the Infiltrators needed to move in. They were stuck, with nerves that were continuing to build the longer they remained in the TR's midst.

 _That Heavy needs to leave! Someone below might spot us!_

Realising that she may be forced to fight if they couldn't get clear quietly, Echo turns to her weapons. With their close proximity to the enemy, she opts to ready her Lumine knife in her right hand instead of her Cerberus, for a possible melee engagement. Ranger meanwhile could be seen with his Desperado in hand, who was now looking to Echo for an agreeable plan of attack. She raises a hand in response, telling him to wait first for the right moment to move if they moved, before filling him in on where she could go to get behind the TR.

By the time they settled on a plan, the TR trio could still be heard talking. Echo flexed her grip over the Lumine's handle, taking slow breaths as she continued to watch on for the next minute, ready to react at a moment's notice.

"... Yeah... how are things coming along over here?"  
"Just about done..."

Suddenly, the critical moment came. The Heavy and the Engineer had begun to walk over to her side of the platform to look over at the floor below. Moving lightly on her feet, Echo repositions herself to keep her blast barrier in the way of the Heavy's moving darklight. Ranger immediately readies his Desperado to shoot from point blank range once they were on top of him. But before this could happen, Echo darts forward from behind her barrier, for the Light Assault who was still watching for ground movement. She uncloaks and activates her Lumine, bringing forth a superheated coil of nanites between the metal blades of her knife, which all hurtles towards the Light Assault in a downward stabbing motion. The knife pierces through his shield with little resistance, before carving its way into the man's jugular, giving him no chance to call for help.

He falls to his knees, gasping for air through his own blood, before Echo finishes him off by kicking him in the back, coursing him to fall to his death. The Heavy and the Engineer both stop in their tracks, turning back to see that their comrade had vanished. Only the sounds of a VS Cloaker gave them any indication of hostile action, as Echo hid behind another blast barrier. At which point, it was Ranger's turn to act while they were both distracted, by bringing his uncloaked gun up to shoot the Heavy in the back of the head. Several rounds are fired, to ensure that a killing blow would be made through the Heavy's shield and helmet. With a splatter, the Heavy falls into the Engineer, who had also taken some grazing shots from the Ranger's barrage of bullets. He collapses onto his back, stunted by a ricochet ring in his ear, before it is silenced altogether when Echo kneels in on the Engineer's chest, to slice open his throat.

"... Fuck..."

It was all Echo could breathe out, until it immediately dawned on both Infiltrators that the TR's lifesign trackers would now be alerting everyone to their position. They immediately cloak, upon hearing the first signs of commotion that echoed throughout the Tech Plant.

"Fuck!"  
"The beam. Go!"

Darklights began to flick about from the floor below, as the Infiltrators raced for the next structural beam to reach the Tech Plant's eastern face. They balanced their way across, as quickly as they dared within seconds, before they kneeled down to make the drop to the floor below.

"Stay on me."  
"I got it. Just go!" Urged Ranger.

While it made it difficult for the TR to find them, their cloaks also made it difficult for either Infiltrator to keep track of the other, even while they were in close proximity. They had to remain wary of where they were both headed as they ran, as well as where the TR were, who were now closing in on the Infiltrators that were preparing to slide down the last part of their descent.

"Contact! Danger close, elevators!"

The shear amount of darklights that were now in their vicinity, meant that it was almost impossible for them to have not been glimpsed by the enemy. EMP grenades landed around where the Infiltrators now leapt from. Their shields shuddered with static, all the while as they attempted to control their descent to the ground, with the aid of support arches that lined all along the Tech Plant's main body. They caught whatever grips they could, to stop themselves from gathering too much speed, until finally, they make one final leap for the ground.

Echo lands hard, performing an awkward tumble that leaves her on her back, aching, with no shields. She slowly rolls herself back onto her knees, to get a bearing on where she was, and where Ranger was. No one else was in the immediate area as far as Echo could tell, aside from Ranger who suddenly lands in view, with a small plume of dust to signal his arrival. Towards a nearby shield gate, she could make out the silhouette of parked Prowlers and Harassers, with a number of Engineers that were attending to the vehicles for repairs. It was only a matter of time.

"Ranger... we got to go..." said Echo, as she crouched over to him.  
"... Shit... ahhh..."

Through the dirt that was partly sticking to Ranger's cloaked suit, she could see him clutching his left foot. He writhed with pain.

"Come on... get up..."

He attempts to get back on his feet, but falters when he puts too much pressure on his injured foot. Echo is checking all around her, with her focus mainly on tagging the TR vehicles and its Engineers, who were bound to be alerted at any moment!

"Get up!" Echo hissed, palming a hand into the ground.

If it weren't for their cloaks that were keeping them hidden, she would've reached out to help him. All she could do now was to keep her Cerberus ready, should the moment come to have to abandon the NC Infiltrator.

"... I'm going."

She hoped her threatening words would stir him into action, all the while as darklights by the shield gate started coming to life. But Ranger still continued to struggle, even when he finally got back on his feet. He appeared to be a lost cause, a limping casualty, unable to keep up with Echo who now was already sprinting for an outer storage building. She ran without even looking back, choosing instead to focus on her path along a wall, to pass a two story building opposite her. She advanced with her gun aimed for the nearest corner, but was forced to stop to let her cloaking recharge. Her eyes darted between the Stalker Cloak indicator, and the Targeting HUD that was tracking multiple hostiles, all closing in from behind.

 _Damn it! Did I stay back too long?_

Time and energy were now in a critical balance, which Echo had to carefully gauge as she started off again at a much slower pace. She dared to push her cloaking unit to the limit, to make it around the next corner, which revealed no extra TR. She peeks through a nearby storage door; still nothing. It was just Echo and a road.

 _A straight shot. It's a lot of open ground, but I can make it through the defilades towards the forest!_

She stayed put, buying even more time for her cloaking to properly charge back up. But beyond the tagged TR who were a distance away, there suddenly came someone else, someone who sounded much closer. Echo ducked into the archway of the nearby storage door, waiting for the rapidly approaching footsteps to round by. They stopped right next to her, with Echo only making out a silhouette; a cloaked Infiltrator! She trained her Cerberus' sights right on him, and uncloaked to afford herself a possible shot. The intruder froze.

"... Echo?"

 _What the...?! Ranger?!_

Echo hesitates for a few seconds, trying to suppress the urge to just pull the trigger, before realising that she needed to remain cloaked if she wasn't going to kill him. Somehow, the NC Infiltrator had caught up with her, despite his recent injury. Lowering her Cerberus to allow Ranger to crouch next to her in the archway, Echo re-engaged her cloaking.

"Are you trying to get me shot?!"  
"... I tore my foot."

And yet, Echo noted how easy it was now for Ranger to put pressure over his left leg. Surely, there was only one explanation for how he was able to return so quickly. But before she could even ask, there suddenly came a TR Harasser that was turning onto the road from the far south; its backseat passenger wielding a darklight that was streaming towards the Infiltrators.

"... Open the door. Get it open!" Ranger exclaimed.  
"It's locked!"

While Echo could've attempted a lock override with probing tools that were laced into her gloves, they only had moments to figure out a hiding spot. Any further delay would surely get the Infiltrators killed, and as such, Echo immediately opts for the two story building that housed a power generator, with Ranger following close by on instinct. Darklight steadily closed in, as they bolted straight through the open door of the utilities floor without clearing their surroundings, to hide behind a server stack. The move pays off, with the Harasser sparing the Infiltrators by only a few seconds, as it drove on by to search elsewhere. Echo and Ranger stood side by side with one another, glancing at each other as they caught their breath as quietly as they could, before noting that they definitely weren't alone. There were people upstairs, their footsteps, however many there were, sounded softly against the metal floors.

 _We have to get out of here, as soon as my cloak charges back up. Did they hear us?_

Echo continued to listen while her cloaking recharged again, trying to place more precisely where the footsteps were... which suddenly, all came to a standstill. The room went silent, with only the humming of the server she leant against to fill her ears.

 _... They must know._

They had to get out, before the TR came downstairs and before the others outside could cut them off. Echo signals for the exit; Ranger nods in agreement. They slowly start to shift around the server's corner, sighting that the night time outdoors were clear. But just as they were about to make a break for it, a sudden shuffle of footsteps came from the nearby staircase, which soon stopped to leave the server area lit up with darklights, with the Infiltrators barely out of sight from behind their slender piece of cover! Everything froze for a split second, before bullets began to probe their position, pinging away at the wall in front of Echo and Ranger.

"Vanu cocksuckers! Just die!"

In response, Ranger uncloaks to blindly fire off the remaining bullets in his pistol at the attackers.

"Come on! I ain't got all night! Come get it!"

Mag ejected, Ranger reloads again to fire another blind volley. The darklights abruptly pull away from the server when the shots seize, and in their place, a grenade is chucked from above to land at the Ranger's feet.

"Gooo!" yelled Echo.

They race for the exit. Ranger kicks away the grenade mid-run, leaving Echo to slam a hand over the closure mechanism for the exit's bulkhead. They both tumble outside to narrowly escape the frag's blast, with the door sealed behind them to contain the shrapnel. Ranger re-engages his cloak, as the Infiltrators scramble back to the storage building again. They had one last opportunity to escape, as the TR from the gate shield area finally closed in on the outer buildings.

"Wait wait wait! Echo!"

The Infiltrators stop in the storage building's doorway. Ranger is frantically pointing at something.

"We need cover! Shoot the tank mines!"

Echo looks back. She isn't able to immediately make out the outline of any tank mines through the darkness, but upon checking her HUD for VS controlled mines, she finds them. Targets gauged, Echo braces herself against the archway, uncloaks, and raises her Cerberus with one hand to fire three careful shots. They all miss, but just as the TR were about to approach the Infiltrators corner, the fourth shot hits, melting its way through a mine, coursing a chain detonation of several tank mines. The shockwaves generated perforate any nearby infantry shield. Echo is shunted into the storage door. A thick plume of dust is lifted into the air, all the while as screams of confusion could be heard, even through the ringing that was in the Echo's ears. They had achieved their intended cover.

"Come on!"

Ranger was kneeling, uncloaked in the doorway from the shock of the blasts, until Echo reaches out to nudge him in the head, shaking him out of his daze. They stumble their way into the dust, before sprinting directly south.

 _... Shit, my Cerberus._

Both Echo and Ranger had lost their pistols as well as their shields to the tank mine blasts, somewhere in the dust. But as they exited the plume and recloaked for the next leg of their run, Echo's attention quickly changed to the forest that was tantalisingly close. Their cloak energies last long enough for the Infiltrators to dive into a defilade alongside the main road, where they remain still for their active cloaks to recharge once more, within just one cloak run of the forest. By this time, Echo still felt quite capable of running for at least another hour, to find a place somewhere within the trees where she could hide and rest. She... not they, Echo thought.

 _I can find a spot for myself. But what do I do about my stalker?_

It was a question that inevitably had to be answered. But suddenly, just as Echo was about to press her feelings further on the issue, footsteps travelling along the road brought her back to the now of her escape. The sounds stop around a sizeable rock opposite Echo and Ranger, before two TR Infiltrators reveal themselves from behind the rock's low cover. They appeared to be stalkers as well, acting as scouts, wielding only pistols to economise on the energy consumption of their suits. The pair of TR scouts were trying to cordon off the area, by deploying a motion spotter to monitor any hostile movement.

"... They're using a spotter," said Echo under her breath.  
"Can't leave with that thing up..."

It was bad timing that the TR Infiltrators appeared as soon as they did. Now, they had to be dealt with if Echo and Ranger wanted to escape untracked. Echo unsheathed her Lumine once more, with Ranger unsheathing his own Carver in agreement. They look on at their targets, who were both about 20 metres away, peering down the road. It was as good a chance as any, with Ranger springing up first to lead the charge. Within seconds, he tackles the first TR infiltrator to the ground and attempts to bring his blade to the victim's chest. Echo comes in next to attack the second, but through the extra time the second TR Infiltrator had to watch her partner get jumped, she manages to raise a pistol on Echo. The VS Infiltrator reacts by raising her left arm to bat away the gun, before following up on the disarm with the Lumine in her right hand. It slices through the TR Infiltrator's shielded collarbone, missing her throat by centimetres; it isn't enough to kill. She is hardly phased by the strike, and in response, the wounded Infiltrator grabs for the knife arm and twists it back, leaving Echo open to a kick to the back of her knees. She falls onto her back, Lumine still in hand, and is forced to roll away to avoid a foot stomp.

Echo quickly reorients herself on her knees to face her opponent again, crouched and ready. But instead of being advanced upon, the opponent's attention shifts back to her partner, who by this time, had been stabbed repeatedly by Ranger. She turns away from Echo. Echo responds by moving to keep herself in the way, but suddenly, the TR Infiltrator folds on her shift in attention, with what was a deceptive bluff. She unsheathes and swings a Ripper knife in a single motion, in a wide arc to slice at Echo's waist. Next to no shielding to contend with, the motorized serrations on the blade cut through the VS Infiltrator's Nanoweave armour, to create a notable flesh wound.

Echo yelps in pain as she trips into the nearby rocks, with her Lumine sparking against them. An opening gained from Echo's intervention, Ranger then steps up to continue occupying the fight, with two knife swipes of his own. They miss the TR Infiltrator, as she takes a simple side step to avoid the wild swings. Then, making good on Ranger's distraction, Echo pushes herself off her rock, suppressing fresh spasms of pain as she went, to spring right at the TR Infiltrator's right side. This time, the Lumine finds its mark, stabbing its way into a lung. The punctured enemy flails hopelessly against Echo before crumbling to the ground with one last push, knife out of hand, writhing in pain. Echo remains standing, hunched over the Republican who was beginning to suffocate, before she kneels down to hold her beaten opponent still by the throat, to burrow the Lumine through her heart. Vaporous gases sizzle out from between the blades of the knife.

 _That's for Cailly..._

The adrenaline rush from her charge leaves Echo panting for air. Her focus, which largely remained on gripping her Lumine, finally begins to waver, as her breathing brings forth more pain from around her belly. She groans, reaching for her wound with a spare hand to grasp at how much blood she was losing.

 _Not bad... it could've been much worse..._

She wipes off droplets of blood which had already collected on the right side of her suit.

 _Get up..._

Removing the steamed Lumine from the slain Infiltrator, Echo gets back on her feet, clutching her wound to slow the bleeding. Ranger by this time had already gone about destroying the TR motion sensor they had intended to disable. Its casing lay wrecked on the ground, sliced to pieces.

"Alright... we're good..." huffed Ranger.

Echo sheaths her knife and cloaks, but for a moment, her cloaking doesn't appear to be functioning properly. The open slash in Echo's suit was allowing light to reflect around the mesh of her cloaking in bizarre ways; straight streaks of colour contoured her silhouette. Fortunately, in the same way that her shielding could deform and reform, the Stalker Cloak was already on the mend. Like a zipper, the rip resealed itself within seconds, leaving only a few visible droplets of blood and some damaged armour around Echo's hip.

"... Let's go."

She takes a few tentative steps for the forest, testing her wound, before managing a jog for the trees. She looks behind to see Ranger cloaked, and the rest of the Terran Republic far behind, with only two dead Infiltrators for the enemy to go on. Against all the odds that came loudly through the night, through the combined skill of two opposing Infiltrators, Echo-7 and Ranger-3, had escaped Heyoka Tech Plant.


	3. Act III

The sounds of battle, echoing through the night as VS forces continued their retreat, continued to fade the further the Infiltrators travelled. The trees that crowded their forest were thick in shape, with canopies that were wide in spread to leave the ground mostly in pitch black. Inconvenient as this was for the two weary soldiers who had to navigate past ground humps and tree roots, it still made for an overwhelmingly welcome change. Their paranoia for continuing uncloaked lessened within their shadowy confines.

Echo maintained pressure against her wound as she moved. The patch above her slash was fastened tight, and with recharged shields, her bodily lacing of nanites was also tightened, to provide additional support. She kept the pain under control as best as she could, by timing her exhalations with every step, while leaning on her Agility implant to redistribute any spasms. But eventually, after what felt like 20 minutes of travel which had slowed to a casual walk, Echo had to sit down to catch her breath. Ranger leant against a tree just opposite.

"... We made it," spoke Ranger, "... fucking hell..."

The VS Infiltrator peers up from underneath her visor to look upon the NC who she had helped to escape, who had in turn, helped her to escape. She sat in silence, savouring her first minutes of peace after hours of fighting, while plotting her next move... for what she felt had to be done, for everything she had failed to do. Physical pain only served to push forward surges of sorrow and anger, feelings that she had kept suppressed while she was fighting to survive, while she remained helpless to act on behalf of her squad.

It was seemingly hopeless for Echo to have helped anyone, to have helped Cailly, but there was no denying that she let those closest to her perish. The faces of those who had suffered dearly bit at her mind, as she subconsciously was searching for a way to forgive herself, as she had always done for the decades of fighting which never got any easier. In the end, as she fought back an urge to cry, there came but one thought, and one thought alone that gave her any sense of comfort.

 _Make... them... pay..._

Her eyes were tracking Ranger's shadowy outline, which soon began to shift away. Echo slowly stood back up, refusing to give in to exhaustion... not while she had to do what she was convinced, needed to be done. Ranger gave a small scoff.

"If it weren't for you... being back there..."  
"You said you tore a muscle in your foot."  
"... I did, yes... some terrible timing..."

"…"  
"Look, what can I say? I know it shouldn't have happened... it slowed us down..."

Echo took a step forward.

"You want an apology?"  
"You have a regeneration mod, don't you?"

The pointedness of Echo's question, it gave Ranger pause for an answer. He straightened his body posture to his full height.

"And finding those mines, you had an EOD mod for those, right?"  
"... Does it matter?"

Echo stayed silent, hand now resting on her Lumine. Much to Ranger's reluctance, he now recognised what was happening, prompting him to shake his head. Ranger-3 had to be stopped.

"Oh... ok... ok... that's... great..."

He stayed right where he was, unmoving, to see that Echo was reaching for her helmet with a spare hand. She commands her implants to switch off her HUD and to unclasp the joins which meshed her headgear with her suit systems. With one quick motion, Echo slid off the Darkstar Scout helmet to let it fall to the ground, to reveal green eyes to a sworn enemy. Framed within broken rays of light, she bore sharp features and short black hair, which clung messily over her pale skin.

"... Sorry, Ranger... I cannot let you escape..."  
"... No... you're not sorry."  
"You want me to be naive? Enough to just... let you go, so you can hit us when we hurt the most?"

"…"  
"My people are still trying to save themselves from the Republic even now, nevermind your blue anarchy."  
"... I am one of many, Echo, you were right about my call sign... there are others... so what difference do you really hope to make here?"  
"I damn well know how much of a fucking difference you can make, and more. You made that clear tonight... saboteur..."

As if to preserve some semblance of trust that was falling apart, Ranger reaches for his clothed mask and pulls it off, to reveal brown eyes and brown scruffy hair.

"... You saved my life, Echo..."  
"Not my first choice."  
"And I saved yours! Is that really not enough?"  
"... You shouldn't have come here... you should never have come. This, was ours... "  
"Says who? The fleeing Vanu? Did you want to die back there?"

Anger flashes over Echo's face, prompting her to draw her Lumine knife. Ranger on reflex took a step back and drew his own Carver.

"... You can still walk away you know... escape like we agreed, pretend we never met..." said Ranger, in a more restrained tone.

He tilted his head, peering directly at Echo's waist where her wound was hidden.

"... You're in no position to fight."  
"Then what are you afraid of?"

With guards raised, silence fell between the two Infiltrators who were primed to pounce at any moment. Yet as though a held breath of air was released while neither combatant made a move, Ranger lowered his knife to peer at it. Echo tilts her head.

"... You know for... for someone so eager to hurt themselves, I guess I should be glad that you didn't just stab me in the back when I wasn't looking... You had every chance to end this without the need to speak up... "  
"... It's all I owe you, nothing more."  
"... Hm... so, honour, is it? Or am I somehow useful alive?"

Echo remained silent, her face betraying next to nothing of her intentions. But slowly, to Echo's surprise, Ranger holds his knife to one side with the intent of dropping the weapon.

"How about it?"

Echo eyed Ranger closely, trying to determine if this was some kind of trick, in spite of her willingness to believe that his offer was honourable. Considering her wound, it would already make things difficult if she did proceed into a fight, and within a knife fight specifically, she felt confident that she wouldn't last long, compared to fighting unarmed.

 _The longer I can hold my ground, the more chances I'll have to hit back. I don't think I can afford another slash._

The offer felt sound tactically, if she wanted a better chance to pull through what she had began. And if she was capable of subduing the NC Infiltrator this way, perhaps then, it'd be a chance for her to pull information from him. Torture, Echo thought, as Cailly's parting words drifted by again.

She gave a small nod, before raising her own knife to one side. On cue, they both dropped and flicked away their weapons with a foot, before they began walking parallel to each other, away from their discarded gear. After a few metres, Echo raised open hands, her arms in a low guard position to protect her weak spot around the right of her waist.

"Hard thing to come by these days, huh?"  
"…"

Ranger kept a more casual guard, a stance which appeared overconfident to Echo's eyes. His hubris was what she had to exploit, by taking the first steps towards him, as disadvantaged as she was. The NC Infiltrator took some steps of his own to close the gap, keeping pace with Echo, before suddenly lurching forward with a right hook. Echo reacts by raising her left arm to deflect and hold the swing over to her right, pushing Ranger off centre. But with a free left arm, Ranger brings a fist down into Echo's hold to break it, before rotating on the spot to bring a left elbow into Echo's back. They push apart with their backs to each other, and reset in their footing.

For a brief moment, they take in what their opponent was able to do, before walking into each other to engage in another flurry of attacks. Again, Ranger makes the first move, opening with a left hook and then a right, which Echo is neatly able to duck through to afford her a counterattack. She aims low, swinging a right fist into the lower-left of Ranger's rib cage, through shielding which was only partially disconnected after he had removed his mask. He is hardly stunted by the blow, allowing him to grab the arm that jabbed him, which allows Echo to balance a straight-on left kick that lands squarely in his stomach. Spasms briefly resonate through Echo from the stretched kick, but she pushes on with the momentum she gains, by taking advantage of the grip Ranger still had over her right arm. She pulls him closer, into the path of an angled-down left punch that slams into his face, before grappling for his throat. But before she could get a good hold to force him down, Ranger beats back by wrapping both of his arms around Echo's back, to hold her in a position where he is able to knee her in the stomach.

Even with her own partial shielding that was left, it was a blow that made Echo cry out in pain, all the while as Ranger was winding up for a second knee.

 _Augh... Block! Block low!_

She reeled back her focus, forcing her eyes to stay open, so she could anticipate the next knee that was already coming. In defence, Echo crosses her arms and brings them low to block the leg, and then in offence, she brings both of her wrists together to uppercut Ranger in the jaw with two fists. He let's go of Echo, stumbling backwards with his head tilted up, leaving Echo to drop to a knee to clutch her waist, which was now giving her more spasms than ever.

 _Breath... just... damn it, get up!_

Ranger rebalances himself, shaking his head to shake off the hit, before advancing once more after Echo. She barely gets to her feet in time to avoid getting kicked to the ground. Hands reach out to shove Echo into the trunk of a tree, where Ranger was now aiming to keep her pinned. But with a hard downward swipe of two arms to break his hold and a cry of anger, Echo brings her low bearing fists to slam into Ranger's stomach, pushing him back if only briefly. The NC Infiltrator, who was growing frustrated with the persistency of a wounded VS Infiltrator, redoubles his efforts to bring her down, by shoulder tackling Echo back into the tree. It knocks the wind out of her, but worse still, she could now feel the pressure of fingers which were digging into her waist, which were bringing on piercing levels of pain. Her sense of coordination becomes thrown as she began to scream in agony, leaving her to hit a fist repeatedly against Ranger's torso out of desperation, to little effect. Yet as she continued to thrash out, a foot of hers found its way onto the rise of a tree root. She pushes down on it, frantically hoping that it would somehow get her clear of the Ranger's grip; it doesn't. Her move affords her some extra height, but she is still stuck in place, with pain surging through her.

 _Forward! Push!_

Eventually, upon regaining some semblance of self-control, she musters the strength to lift an arm high into the air, to bash an elbow down into Ranger's head. His grip finally breaks, as he falls backwards with a yell, throwing Echo free to one side. She lands on her back, with a paralysing sensation that prevents her from immediately moving about, while Ranger crumpled to his knees with a hand clutched over his scalp. Both Infiltrators try to collect themselves over the next minute, nursing their injuries, over what became a momentary respite. Soon, Echo's pain reduces enough in intensity to allow her to crawl away from Ranger, in an effort to reset her position. She doesn't get very far however, as Ranger is quick to catch on to what Echo was doing. He stands back up with a wobble in his legs, takes a few steps forward, and dives right onto Echo.

She twists around to come face to face with Ranger and a hand which reached for her throat. It locks in to enable the NC Infiltrator to choke her.

"Surrender!"

His hand was gripped tight, yet it was still loosened enough to allow Echo to speak, for her to say that she would give up; she didn't. Instead, Echo goes to pull at the choking arm with her left hand, which forces Ranger to use two hands to keep her down, which affords Echo's right hand the chance to reach for her helmet, to swing it into Ranger's head. An audible thud is heard with the disorienting blow, though it isn't enough to push Ranger off. Dropping the helmet, Echo then makes good on the confusion by grabbing a bunch of his hair with one hand, and pinning the backside of her other hand to his right cheek. Ranger's eyes regain focus, rolling around to peer at the hands at his head. In a panic, he attempts to grab them, to pull them off... but he is too slow.

The VS Infiltrator's serrations along the knucklebone part of her gauntlets, allow the hand that Echo suddenly rips from Ranger's cheek, to slash two deep cuts into his face. He recoils with closed eyes, grasping at his face which was dripping blood everywhere, before he rolls off to one side, blindly scrambling away from Echo. He could only wince at the new wound, such was the quickness of Echo's attack that was now leaving him in shock. Finally, Echo could get to her feet, if only barely. She tilted back her head and blinked her eyes, trying to rid herself of the tears which were blurring her view of the night sky. While doing so, she noted that it wasn't just sweat and tears that covered her face, but also droplets of blood, which presumably weren't hers. She touches fingers over her face with her knuckle bloodied hand; her finger tips now red.

Her eyes look to the stains, before she turns to look at Ranger straight in the eye, who was leaning heavily against a tree for support. In a taunting gesture, she flicks her bloodied fingers from her thumb at the NC Infiltrator, before resuming her low arm guard stance. Slowly, Ranger takes a few steps forward, before moving in with a furious battle cry. Echo deflects a wild right swing from Ranger, before landing a left-handed hit to his right ear on the follow through. It serves to enrage the already weary Infiltrator, leading him to double back for a punch at Echo's jaw and to tackle her off into a small gully. They both roll down the incline, crashing through a bush, before coming to a stop at the very bottom, with Echo landing her back against a protruding rock.

The impact bruises her through the suit, leaving her breathless, gasping for air. Her body by this time felt horribly battered; aching at the very least, searing at the very worst. And yet, her mind still was refusing to give in to the physical limitations of her now crippled form, after everything she had suffered tonight.

 _Come on... get up..._

She attempted to get back on all fours...

 _... Now!_

To stand yet again...

 _... Fucking... come oooon!_

But her last fall, was to be her last stand, as she felt Ranger crash onto her back to press her into the ground.

"Ngh... no..."

An arm wrapped and tightened around her throat, to form a choke hold.

 _... No..._

She could hear Ranger's breathing in her left ear.

"Are we done?" Whispered Ranger, with as much venom as he could bring.  
"... No..."

Something to Echo's fear, began to press against her slash wound again, presumably his fingers.

"... Are we done?!"  
"…"

Then came the piercing pain again, which now pushed Echo to the brink of passing out.

"Ngh... ah... ahhhhhh!  
"Say it!"

Tears and cold sweat lined her face. In spite of everything she fought for, she cried not only in pain, but in bitterness, for the words she was being tortured into saying.

"... Yes... yes..." Echo squeezed out.

And as quickly as the pain came, it began to subside when Ranger finally removed himself from crushing Echo any further. Exhaustion finally took hold over her, as she laid where she was, unmoving, with shafted breathing. Ranger meanwhile walked away from her, heading out of the gully to undoubtedly grab his equipment.

She tried to stop him, she tried to protect her people, yet for the second time tonight... Echo, had failed.

Closing her eyes, Echo began to sob, completely at the mercy of her surroundings, as she drew ever closer to becoming unconscious. The growing wetness of blood against her waist, which previously wasn't growing as fast, served as an unavoidable reminder. There would be nothing left to save her from being rebirthed, once she passed out from Ranger's critical afflictions. Even now, she swore she could feel the chill of the distant servers that were readying to take her, for however long it would be.

Powerless to do anything, she soon heard Ranger's footsteps come back into range. They approached, and stopped right in front of her.

"I gave you the chance to leave, Echo... I gave you the damn chance..."

"…"  
"... Perhaps, I should've mentioned the Adrenaline Pump..."

Through all the blows that Ranger had sustained to the head, it would no doubt explain why he was still left standing with open eyes. Coupled with his ability to regenerate, it would indeed make him the formidable Infiltrator he was, built for endurance over long, solo deployments. Maybe she should've known better, maybe she should've backed off, but in all likelihood, regardless of what she knew of his abilities, it probably would've made little difference in her conviction to stop him.

Echo slowly rolled her head around, so she could see the NC Infiltrator that stood over her. He gave a sigh and turned to walk away, until Echo made an effort to grab his right heel.

"... Coward."

Ranger gave pause for what Echo weakly uttered, before shaking her hand free to start walking again.

"... Coward!"

Echo cries out again, somewhat louder than before. This time, Ranger stops in his tracks to look back at Echo, before slowly walking up to her to kick her onto her back. He then knelt down and drew Echo's Lumine knife to press it against her throat.

"... You want to know... how long I was trapped, on that god forsaken roof? Hm?"

"…"  
"Thirty-nine days... thirty... nine... all because of the VS... and you..."

"…"  
"Ever since that raid, when we pulled in here for your Cortium... I had nowhere to run, but up..."

To Echo, the news gave her a small sense of closure, for her deeply seeded suspicions of Ranger-3. Around forty days previously, Echo-7 wasn't even assigned to Heyoka Tech Plant. She had no prior knowledge of its daily workings, until the last few days when the Republic's siege broke out. Her eyes narrowed on the would-be saboteur in anger.

"... Don't you fucking talk to me, about being a coward."  
"... You're... a coward..."

Ranger pressures the knife a little harder, in an effort to make Echo swallow her words, but she presses on.

"... A coward... for... leaving me... to bleed..."

Through locked eyes, Ranger's eyes widen slightly at what Echo was implying. He loosens his weapon hand.

"... I failed once... I failed again..."

She closes her eyes, and weakly lifts a hand to reach for her knife, which casually gets batted away.

"... End... end it."

She refused to lay in a forest to slowly die, for however long it would take while her wound remained open, while there was no help that would come. Eyes forced shut, eventually, she feels a hand rest on her forehead; she had seen enough in this life.

"... You fought well... Echo-7..." Ranger sighed out.  
"... Not... well enough..."

Every part of her body tensed for the end to arrive, for her slumber to begin. Now was the time, this was it... but the moment never came. Instead, after a few seconds that felt far too long, she felt her knife lift from her throat, along with the hand. She could hear the NC Infiltrator move around her, but not to leave. Whatever was happening, she didn't dare open her eyes.

 _Suffocation by his hands?_

She took in one last breath of air, expecting it to be her last for when the NC Infiltrator would cover her mouth and nose... but that moment never came either. Instead, there was a small pinch near her slash wound. The patch for her suit was being sliced open.

"... I'll make this as painless as I can."

And suddenly, before Echo could even ask what was happening, her waist was enveloped with a violent prickling sensation, which quickly turned into a warm numbness. Her pain began to subside dramatically, with the numbness sinking deeper into her body.

 _I know this feeling._

To her complete surprise, this was not the sensation of death she was experiencing, but something akin to a Med-stick being applied. Opening her eyes, she peered down to find that Ranger had placed a hand over her wound, to siphon off his own regenerative Nanites to heal her! He turns to give Echo a tired look, green light illuminating his bloodied face.

Within a minute, he finished his work, leaving Ranger to roll onto his back in exhaustion. Echo's whole body felt numb, dotted with the occasional rise of pins-and-needles. She had no idea how to respond to this.

"... There goes my last bit of juice..."

They laid where they were for the next few minutes, completely spent, desiring not to move another muscle. Echo tried to reason out what had happened, but even this was something she didn't yet have the energy for. Whatever the reason, whatever amount of pity or honour was involved, Echo's thoughts drifted back to a simple priority for herself, once she felt conscious enough.

 _Get up._

Had it not been for the fact that she was well behind Republican lines, she would've been quite content with staying still for another 5 minutes. She attempts to get back up, her strength only partly restored, on what felt like jelly legs and arms. At first, she falters back to the ground with a groan, but trying for a second time, she stumbles to her feet. One foot in front of the other, Echo aims for a nearby tree for support, kicking along the way her Darkstar helmet that Ranger had brought back. She was feeling light-headed; her heart pumped audibly in her ears.

"You really don't know when to quit, do you?"  
"... You would know..." Echo weakly bit back.

Feeling only marginally better on her legs, she goes back for her helmet, which was already being scooped up by Ranger. He drops the Lumine knife into the Darkstar helmet as though it were a basket, before handing Echo back her equipment.

"Here, give me your arm," said Ranger, offering a shoulder for support.

How was Echo really supposed to feel about this? Confused and tired still appeared to be the only correct answers, at least for now. She stared at the knife which sat in her upturned helmet, as if to ask whether or not this was really hers to use, before turning to her free hand which she could feel was shaking involuntarily. Making an out-held fist didn't help to dampen the shakes very much, not until Ranger grabbed the hand by the wrist to carefully sling the rest of her arm over his shoulder. Slowly, with masks in hand, the Infiltrators shuffled deeper into the forest.

Every step felt unsteady, not only from Echo's own fatigue, but from Ranger's movements as well. It seemed as though Ranger was about trip up at any moment, as he continued to drag his feet forward, over small dips and rises in their surroundings that felt like angled walls they had to scale, all the while as they searched for a suitable place to rest. What they would do when they found this place of rest was still another matter entirely, one which hadn't been solved with brute force. Over the next half hour, the person Echo had tried to stop returned to the forefront of her mind.

 _... I want to know..._

Motioning to Ranger that she needed to lean against a tree, they stop for a breather. The growing temptation to lie down where she stood was stifled only by the growing need to understand Ranger's actions.

"Ranger?"  
"What?"  
"... You saved me..."  
"You're just getting that now? Asked Ranger, with a weak undertone of sarcasm.  
"... You spared... and healed me..."  
"Yeah... I did, didn't I?"  
"... If I had won..."

She stopped, hesitating at the slightest rise in guilt she felt for her enemy.

"... Did you believe I would spare you?" Echo asked, with a shake in her voice.  
"... Would you've?"

She rolls her head around to look at Ranger, who was leaning against the tree beside her. Before long, she feels incapable of facing him.

"... I... wanted you... I wanted you to pay..."

Choking on her last word, Echo tilted her head down. She gritted her teeth in an undecided mix of anguish and shame.

"... Fuck you, Ranger... fuck... you..."

"…"  
"... Go then... I don't need you... just fuck off..."

Echo was beside herself, having lost the will to continue putting up with someone she had no power over.

"I did not hurt your people... not tonight..."  
"You will..."  
"... I'm sorry..."  
"Liar!"

Her eyes closed, she wished with all her hate that her twisted night would just end with Ranger leaving her alone, before realising that he was in fact squeezing her right hand. Her eyes sprung open in alarm, she flicked her right arm away and stepped back from Ranger.

 _What are you doing?_

He stared back with a vacant look on his face.

"... Stop looking at me," shuddered Echo, with little power left in her voice.

He then began to shuffle forward, forcing Echo to take more steps back.

"Stop it."

His advance continued.

"Stay back."  
"... Why?"

Dropping her helmet, she grabbed and pointed her knife at Ranger.

"... I swear to Van...  
"What!? You'll do what? Huh? You going to take more out on me!?"

He pawed at where Echo had inflicted his cheek slashes.

"Hit me then... trap me here even longer!" Ranger exclaimed, his voice breaking, "thirty-nine days, huh?"

Echo's knife hand shook ever more violently the closer Ranger got, before he was soon upon her. She weakly tried to push back, dropping her knife in the process, but neither her strength nor her will could keep him from pressing her into another tree by her upper arms.

"... I lost people too, Echo... I lost them... when I ran..."

Echo tried to look away with closed eyes.

"... I just sat up there... waiting for that moment I would be hunted down... and then up you came..."

She could feel his breathing against her face. She flinches in reaction to Ranger stroking fingers against her hair.

"You know it, don't you? What it means to hide, for so... so long. When you haven't seen a face, a real face, in god knows how long..."

Quietly, Ranger began to sniffle.

"... You know what I mean?"

The feeling of loneliness, surrounded constantly by those who sought to bring more suffering; such was the life of a Stalker. The shadows of Auraxis could provide safety, but never comfort for a silent killer like Echo-7... like Ranger-3. Echo knew what he was talking about, having spent days or even weeks in constant solitary danger over every decade of the Auraxis war. She tried to fight her memories from those times, to suppress them as she had always done... except now, it wasn't working, as Ranger leant in to nuzzle her left cheek. Tears began to lace their way down Echo's face from his warmth.

"Echo?" he whispered.  
"Stop... please stop..."

Leaning back, Ranger cupped a hand to Echo's face; her eyes lazily opened.

"... I know... of course I fucking know..." sobbed Echo.

She reaches for the hand at her face and pulls it down to Ranger's chest, as he inhales deeply through his nose.

"God you have a pretty face, you know that?"

With one hand, Ranger squeezes Echo's hand that was between them, to feel her strength. With his other, it rests on an Auraxian shoulder plate of the Sovereignty.

"Vanu's finest..."  
"... You flatter yourself... only yourself..."

Ranger's aroma, the oiliness of his hair and the touch of his breath, it was all pulling Echo closer to him the longer she remained in his shadow. It all felt so right yet so wrong at the same time.

"... They'll kill me for this... if they knew... is that your plan?" shuddered Echo, trying to reason her feelings.  
"We can hide... we're Stalkers... it's what we do best, isn't it?"

"I know your hate, Echo... I know I've done terrible things... and I know you don't believe me... but let me try to be sorry, just this once..."

Gently, he dipped his forehead onto Echo's, before pulling her into a tighter embrace, as tears quietly streamed for both Infiltrators.

"... Bastard..."  
"... I know."  
"... You bastard..."  
"... I guess that makes two of us."

To let it all go, to look at what was in front of them for even a moment... had she found what they were ultimately fighting for? For peace and comfort? To Echo, she felt uncertain, afraid of this new revelation, which was all the more reason she now felt drawn into reciprocating with Ranger. Their arms found their way around each other's waists; Ranger could feel Echo's bare patch of skin which remained unsealed through her deactivated suit. It had well and truly been healed, even while it still ached.

"Does it still hurt?"  
"... Like you care."

They lean in, awkwardly touching lips, before they slowly kissed. It was long and gentle, and for a moment, it seemed to quell her fears and her hate for the person she had fought against for decades. But as she parted for a breath, she gazed into Ranger's eyes, only to find that his one kiss didn't feel like enough, something that Ranger must've also felt. Leaning in again, they went in for seconds. This time, neither Infiltrator hesitated in completely taking advantage of the other. Echo could feel she was being pushed harder into the tree, amidst what was a fuller, more aggressive kiss. She pushed back, refusing to part lips for the euphoria that was taking over, that was shielding her from horrific memories of the Auraxis war. She wanted more, so much more, even while she realised that it would never be enough to undo all of her scars.

Eventually, when she felt that she could no longer hold her breath, she rested her left cheek against Ranger's face, panting for air.

"Perhaps you are not so brainwashed," whispered Ranger.

The distinct smell of dry blood reaches Echo's nose, as she remained frozen in their tight hug for a good moment. Ranger's face had healed quite well.

"... You want... an apology... for all the things I've done?"  
"... Your choice."

Choice; something that few people on Auraxis ever had the luxury of considering above orders and oaths. A chance to repent, to reconcile with one person out of hundreds of thousands who had also suffered. It felt right, even if it was next to worthless in Echo's mind alongside her own duties.

"... I am sworn to protect our path, not yours... it isn't my place to apologise for it..."

She gazed into Ranger's eyes again.

"... Sorry," Echo solemnly said.

Silence fell for a few moments as Ranger slowly nodded his head, recognising that it was only for herself that Echo was willing to show compassion.

"We should... find a place to rest..." Echo tentatively states.  
"... Together? One night?"  
"... You'd stay?"  
"Yeah, I can stay... not like I can run much now, no thanks to you..."

Echo scoffs softly at Ranger's last remark, before they turn past their tree to spot a natural landmark.

"Those over there could do," said Ranger, pointing in the direction of several large boulders.

The Infiltrators stumble in, equipment back in hand, hoping that they wouldn't have to do any more walking for a place of refuge. Fortunately, between a gap that was large enough for both Infiltrators to squeeze past, they find themselves in a cramped but concealed space underneath the boulders, where they could finally shut their eyes. They hold on to each other's head gear, as a mutual means of ensuring that neither Infiltrator could somehow radio for backup or peek at any HUD information.

"Promise you won't try to slice me in my sleep?" Ranger casually asked.

Through the pitch blackness and the smell of earth, Echo felt Ranger reaching over to hold her; she reaches back.

"... No promises. How about you?"  
"Hm... I suppose not."

Turning her back on Ranger, he pulls himself closer to Echo, wrapping an arm around her waist to share in their warmth. On the back of her head, she feels Ranger give a small kiss, as if to say that he trusts in her honesty.

Had Echo actually gained an ally for the Sovereignty or for herself? Unlikely. Did she have any idea on what she was going to do tomorrow? None. But what she did have, was a life that she was certain she should not have kept tonight, against all the odds. Even as she made herself comfortable in Ranger's embrace, she still felt paranoid that he would slip a knife between her ribs. Either way, she had somehow been given a chance to get this far, above all her other comrades from the Tech Plant. If this was somehow an unlikely reward for all her battles, then perhaps it wasn't something to squander lightly, especially if it would only be temporary to have the comforting presence of another human being.

Squeezing the hand at her waist, sleep finally overcame Echo-7.


	4. Act IV

_I... don't want to be alone... I have to get home... I have to find my people again... where am I though? Where am I really?_

With collected thoughts, Echo awoke from what was an uncomfortable slumber, as the Auraxian sun dimly peeked its way into her sanctuary. She stared blankly at what was in front of her, before determining that she was in fact looking at the mossy covering of several boulders, which sat a few centimetres above where she laid.

 _Ugh... not exactly the best place I've slept in..._

She attempts to move within her confined surroundings, but stops when she feels a strain in her back muscles, and something else which held her by the waist. Echo froze, reaching with one hand to feel that it was another hand, which belonged to none other than a certain New Conglomerate Infiltrator she had encountered last night.

 _You..._

Carefully rolling around, Echo-7 could see that Ranger-3 was still here. He potentially could've woken up first and left, yet here he still laid, still asleep.

 _That's right... I wasn't alone..._

She took in the face of her sleeping enemy, a rare sight which Echo wasn't accustomed to seeing all that often, within a more discernible light than from last night. She gripped his hand firmly, half expecting that he would wake up from the grip; he didn't. Instead, all of a sudden, Ranger's hand tightened, his head twitched to one side while his eyes remained closed. Something was off, as Echo swore she saw his lips move, as though he was muttering something.

"... Hey..." spoke Echo.

She squeezed his hand harder, before shaking it about.

"Ranger, wake up," Spoke Echo again, this time more firmer, "Ranger!"

Instantly, Ranger's eyes sprung open as Echo finally got through to him. His head tilted upwards in an effort to sit up, but he is immediately halted by a boulder to the forehead.

"Arrrrrgh! Mother... fucker... ahhhhh..."

He clutched a free hand over where he injured himself, his breathing fast from the unpleasant morning surprise, before he gradually calmed himself upon registering that Echo was nearby, staring at him with wide eyes.

"... Morning..." Ranger puffed out.

He moves Echo's hand to rest it on his chest, before giving one deep sigh.

"... Thanks... for pulling me out of there..."  
"What happened?"

Ranger readjusts himself on his back, before he briefly closes his eyes again.

"I wasn't trying to jump you, in case you're wondering."  
"... Nightmares?"  
"... Was really hoping for them to just... piss off for a night..."

Echo's eyes relaxed, before she settled back down.

"How'd you fair?"

She opened her mouth to answer, with regard to nightmares she now remembered experiencing, but stopped when she couldn't find the appropriate words to describe them, at least to someone outside of her own kin. The technologically enhanced ability to more directly sense human emotions, while tactically beneficial for all Sovereignty members, it did also come with a minor detriment to those who innately had a heightened sense of mental awareness. Echo-7, being born into such a demographic with a keener mental acuity, was subject to the occasional cold sensation that could be felt from the Rebirthing Infrastructure itself. It was a side effect she was intimately familiar with, which no doubt was what catalysed the nightmares in her sleep hours earlier.

In spite of this, her increased sensory awareness was also what made her a stronger Infiltrator. When awake, she was a natural for when it came to utilising the Vanu Proximity Network, not only to spatially sense where her allies were with ease, but to also emotionally influence her allies to perform more effectively during combat. A double edged sword Echo indeed had in her genes, but it was a burden, a valued responsibility she was willing to bare for her people

"The same... I guess..." said Echo, turning back to Ranger's question.  
"Hm."

Echo lifts an open hand.

"My helmet for your goggles?"  
"Hm, deal."

Exchanging each other's equipment back, they allowed themselves the time to catch up on the current state of the Auraxis war. As Echo had guessed, her forces were pushed back towards the Heyoka Armoury, where they had managed to hold their ground over the night. Though from the few radio calls she was able to catch, it wasn't looking any better, as fighting continued to persist with the newly entrenched TR of the region. Sliding off her helmet again to rest it on her belly, it was clear she had to make contact and return, one way or another. Sunlight continued to brighten the sky as time went on, as Echo pondered on how she would make her approach from behind enemy lines.

Pulling off his goggles once he was satisfied with the information he could gather, Ranger peered over at Echo. He rests a hand over by her to get her attention, to which she gently squeezes.

"Business as usual?" Ranger queried.  
"... Something like that... guess you have a lot of ground to cover, huh?"  
"Something like that..."

Rolling onto their sides, they take a moment to look over each other in the growing morning light, for what could possibly be the last time. Decades had passed before their encounter had occurred last night, how many more years would it be before they could run into each other again, if ever? To that end, with whatever feeling of debt she owed him, Echo averts her eyes and forces herself to confront what inevitably had to happen.

"Ranger... you should know... whatever this was... what I tried to do to you... it's nothing personal..."  
"... I know... just another pretty face doing a job."  
"... When I leave... I will think on the people I left behind... on my chances, my training... on what I'll say to my commanders... but I won't think on you."  
"Is that right?"  
"I can't."

Slowly, Echo reaches forward to grasp Ranger's throat, while imagining a future where she'd be compelled to crush his air passage. The NC Infiltrator is not at all fazed by her motion.

"One day, I'll need my strength... to face your Conglomerate again... to face you..."

"…"  
"... Cross me again... cross my people... then by Vanu, I will stop you..." Echo shuddered out.

It had always been easy to threaten an enemy from a distance, but to threaten someone who was literally centimetres away without a mask, it was something else entirely. Gingerly, she withdrew her hand from Ranger, who had registered every bit of tension in Echo's voice.

"Guess it is inevitable... just not today, huh?" Ranger whispered.  
"... Not here... not with the Republic here..."  
"I see."

A moment of silence passes by, with Echo partly unburdened by her darkest thoughts that she was able to express to another killer. Ranger shuffles closer to her.

"Well... if you don't plan on being dutiful just yet, I guess I should make the most of this while I can."

In a smooth motion, he moves to get on top of Echo, tucking his legs and arms on either side of her, with his back pressed against a boulder. Echo braces hands against his shoulders, to hold him from leaning in.

"... Were you not listening?" Echo plainly asks.  
"I heard. You said none of this was personal. That none of this actually matters when we leave. So..."

With care, Ranger moves aside the arms that were restraining him, with little effort.

"You trying to delay me?"  
"Yeah... and get the intel I want from you, along with your defection and your fighting skills..." Ranger dryly stated.

He runs a hand through Echo's hair while giving a small smile.

"... But I'm guessing you're not the snitching kind of girl, huh?"  
"... Anarchist."  
"Is that a yes?"  
"…"

He leans in, bringing a mouth to Echo's right ear.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ranger whispered.

Brushing lips along her right cheek, they find their way to hers. She closes her eyes, placing her arms around the kind killer, as the euphoria took hold once more. Their kisses were palatable as ever, something that no nanite ecosystem could ever truly provide, beyond nutrition and waste removal. Ranger is careful with cradling Echo while he was on top of her, before he goes on to roll Echo around to leave her on top.

It felt so easy going, as her hands slid smoothly over Ranger's chest plating. For someone as old as Echo, she was no stranger to intimacy. It was only within her moment with Ranger that she could remember exactly why this was so, from so long ago.

 _A man's touch... a husband's?_

She remembered what it meant to be loved by him, even in his last days. He was so worried for her safety as things got worse, saying that she should leave, saying that he would catch up once he got the rest of their family out. Sadly on that day, he was not one of the lucky ones to make it into a Rebirthing Infrastructure, as he was left behind in one of the last major cities that were finally levelled. Reavers and Liberators bombed everything, while bearing the mark of the New Conglomerate, as the Terran Republic fled the area. Like her closest friends with the refugees of that day, she wished she could forget it all.

 _Of all the things to remember..._

In the years following, the Sovereignty had a saying about a person's memory, about how cruel it could be.

 _The death of one's memories, is a fate worse than death itself._

The phrase came about after what transpired at Hydoran, when surviving corporations and high ranking military leaders from all three factions, were finally outed as the secret traitors of Auraxis. Hidden on a desolate island for decades, they had profited from the spoils of war while its soldiers were fed false memories that urged them to keep fighting. Nanites that laced the eyes of numerous people, created the motivational images of would-be enemy atrocities, that were perceived subconsciously through many sleep cycles to keep the conflict alive.

Even now, after the memory scheme was finally ended for its many victims, Echo swore she could still feel the damage it coursed, in her ability to distinguish what historically was fact over fiction. Though knowing that her memory was indeed tampered with, it did offer one twisted glimmer of hope, regardless of the actual truth behind her long lost lover. Perhaps it was all Echo needed, after all she had lost.

 _Maybe my husband's death, was never real... maybe he is out there..._

She opens her eyes again, heaving for air while leaning over Ranger's left shoulder.

"... Do you think... we had a chance... at Hydoran?"  
"... Were you a conspirator on that island?"  
"No... but if it gave us the chance to end it all... maybe I should've been there..."

Touching foreheads, the two human beings look into each other's eyes.

"You think we missed our chance?"  
"... I don't know..."

He strokes a thumb over Echo's right cheek.

"... If we did... us being here must mean there's another chance somewhere, right?"  
"... You said that this didn't mean anything, that this didn't matter..."  
"Ohh... I lied I guess, Mister Anarchist and all."

As much as Echo didn't want to, a smile caught her face from the nonchalant remark. Ranger lightly brushes a finger by her lips.

"There... I think I saw chance smiling at me..."  
"... Shut up," Spoke Echo under her breath.

Holding each other close, a hand of Ranger's slides over Echo's Second Spine, a device that was wired directly into her central nervous system that enabled her extra sensory abilities. It acted as a receiver and a transmitter within the Vanu Proximity Network, something that Echo was presently unable to use without any nearby allies. At some point, she was going to need to utilise her spine again, as time was starting to run short, in spite of how comfortable she was feeling.

"... I should get going. I need to get back to my side," stated Echo with an air of urgency.  
"... It's still bad out there, isn't it?"

Echo nods, with a look of worry appearing on her face.

"... Damn."  
"We're behind the Republic's lines, and their backs... if I can scout out whatever I can from here... make myself useful..."  
"Right."

Ranger turns his head to look outside of their cluster of boulders.

"Sun will be coming over soon. You'll want some shade before then, huh?"  
"Yeah."

Withdrawing his arms to allow Echo to slide off, the Infiltrators pick up their gear and crawl for the exit to their refuge; the gloomy surroundings of their forest look clear.

"One night as promised, I suppose," Ranger mumbles.  
"... Yeah."

Pulling themselves out and onto their feet, they do quick stretches to relieve themselves of any knots in their bodies. Soon, they turn to each other and their respective masks.

"Thank you, Echo-7... for saving my ass back there... for saving my sanity..."  
"... It wasn't my first choice..."

She steps closer to Ranger.

"... I guess I'm lucky it was a good choice."

He smiles.

"Me too."

Echo holds out a hand, offering a hand shake which Ranger gladly accepts, before taking a step back to offer Ranger her Darkstar Scout helmet. He takes it with one hand, staring blankly at the blackened visor.

"... Time to be monsters again," said Echo with a sigh, before bowing her head.

Ranger nods, with a look of acceptance on his face for their time together that was passing. Carefully, the NC Infiltrator lowers Echo's helmet, to slide her face behind the all too familiar mask of the Vanu Sovereignty. Once secured with her HUD back online, the VS Infiltrator follows through with the same gesture for Ranger, placing his Windhelm helmet over his face. He makes some final adjustments to the fit, but he then stops to scoff from beneath his disguise.

"... It's funny."  
"What?"  
"Here we are, after the Republic almost killed us, after you saved me... and I don't even know your actual name..."

Echo-7; the seventh member of the Echo detachment that was responsible for safeguarding their air defences around Heyoka Tech Plant. It was what she was known for by her comrades and her adversaries alike, something that she felt she needed to keep... for her own sake, and ultimately for those she was tasked to protect.

She tilts her helmet up, to stare directly into the goggles of her enemy.

"... As it should be..."

Taking more steps back, Ranger and Echo are parted by a few more metres.

"Maybe if we somehow get stuck on another roof again... would you tell me then?"  
"... Maybe, anarchist."

Echo-7 turns to look in the direction of where she would need to go, before she turns back to look at Ranger who was starting to turn away.

"Probably won't mean much to you, Ranger, but I'll say it anyway."

Ranger stops, looking over a shoulder at Echo.

"May Vanu someday... smile upon you..."

He remains still for a moment with his head bowed, as he takes in Echo's words.

"... God be with you, Echo-7... Godspeed..."

Facing back for the journey he was to embark on, he starts walking away into the trees. Echo watches for a time, before closing her eyes.

 _He'll do what he needs to do..._

A last thought, before she opened her eyes. Ranger-3... the enemy who saved her... the person who had spared her life... now, was gone.

 _... Now, it's my turn._

She starts walking, completely alone, with only her instincts and her duties to guide her path. Suit systems reconnected, she briefly activates her Stalker Cloak to initiate repairs for her still sliced waist. The discolouration in her cloaking follows, before everything is correctly realigned, ready for any manner of stealth manoeuvre she would need to perform. Briefly unsheathing her Lumine Knife, she then tests its heated coils to see if they were still functional; they are.

 _Just a knife... good enough..._

A newfound sense of determination rises from her sense of preparedness. Before long, her walk soon evolved into a jog, and then a sprint through the forest, in a bid to make as much time as she could while things were still dim. It was as though something had possessed her, that was making her see things with a greater clarity than before, that was allowing her to move with an utmost swiftness and strength she felt previously robbed off. Humility, was what was driving her, what had gotten her this far... and what was going to drive her through the new dawn.

Staying low, Echo-7 activates her cloaking, upon approaching a clearing in the forest. She flicks through her radio contacts.

"...This is Echo-7... Heyoka Tech Plant detachment... where do you need me...?"


End file.
